Rumour Has It
by BlueTruths
Summary: Lately, it seems that everyone is talking about how much time Lightning is spending with a certain dragoon. Rumours abound that the two are secretly dating. With both his heart and a hundred gil on the line, Hope Estheim is determine to find out the truth. AU.
1. Chapter 1

It was a Saturday, and a nice day. The sun had yet to fully cast off its cloud blanket, which allowed everyone else, on account of not wanting to appear too keen, to sleep in. However, there is always a certain type of young man that when allowed time that is not consumed with school, girls, or filial obligations will always find ways to spend it working. Hope Estheim was such a young man. He was employed, currently, in building his own robot. Months of planning, testing designs, and burnt fingers were about to bear fruit. Alexander gleamed in the early morning light.

A mixture of excitement and pride boiled in his stomach. It was done, the build was finished. All that was left now was to run diagnostics and tweak any outstanding issues, not that there were any. He allowed its glory to wash over him. Hope doubted that anyone else had produced a worthy challenger to Alexander. He didn't have the same funding as some of the others, but he couldn't imagine any of the other mechas being nearly as complete. And this Hope was certain of. He had spent weeks reviewing footage of last year's models, and those of the year before. Hope had been surprised by what he saw, disappointed even. There had been so many flaws, obvious ones. The mechas had all seemed so simple, unsophisticated, and inelegant. He wondered how many of their designers had actually thought about what they had been doing. It wasn't that he didn't understand the limitations. If he was honest with himself, half of Alexander's parts were only... serviceable. That was the point, really. It was easy to build a champion mecha with a funded workshop with the best parts available. So many of his predecessors had allowed less than desirable economic realities and substandard equipment limit them. Hope had not knelt down to such obstacles. He had struggled yes, but he had not yielded. The time would come when all would see, when he would beat those assholes into the dirt. It would be impressive. Hope was sure everyone would think so. He was hopeful; he was about ninety-nine percent certain.

The scrapping of a shoe broke his reverie. Hope turned, it was his mother. Nora Estheim liked to encourage her sons in their pursuits, which is why she had allowed her garage to be filled a giant robot and not cars. She was very understanding, and Hope was thankful. It was just that she could still be such a mom. She had been coming out every half hour to "monitor progress."

"It's very impressive," said Nora shielding her eyes from Alexander's brilliance. At least that's what it looked like she was doing. Hope suspected that she was really trying to hide the fact that she was checking to see if he had eaten the bacon sandwich she had brought out earlier. He soaked up her praise anyways. The two stood there for a moment, until it started to become awkward.

"Why don't you come in for a little while?" asked Nora. She took in Hope's many grease stains, "and maybe a wash?"

Hope tried not to sign out loud, "Not right now, I still have a few tests to run on the thrusters."

"Hmm, how long will that take?"

Hope sighed, "I don't know, Mom, time. There's a lot I have to go over."

Nora flashed Hope a look, just to remind him who was the boss here, "Why don't you start then?"

"Pardon?"

Nora sighed, "Hope, you'll get nothing done if you just keep standing there. You've been out here all morning. Why don't we run through the first few diagnostics and get you inside for lunch."

"Er, well, I kinda, I would rather not to with you standing there, watching." Hope mumbled.

"Hope Estheim!" snapped Nora, "you've left me inside with both your brother and father for over four straight hours! Either you get your butt back inside or I'm sending one of them out here, is that understood?" Hope considered this. It could only go one of two ways depending on who was annoying his mother the most. She could send out his father, who would stand on the side walk with an oppressive silence. He would just be there, watching Hope's every move. If he talked, it would only to point out something he felt Hope had done wrong and if Hope didn't dared look at the man. That face, it would be so full of disappointment, like every single time before. If it was his brother, then Hope imagined it go something like this:

"Hey, hey dumb ass, why'd you go with the VZ860 thrusters, you'd have gotten better acceleration with the VZ910? What are you building? A go-cart to race kittens in?"

Or this:

"Shit, Hope. Oh, gawd. Yeah, I am laughing. Yes, at you. It's just that not even Sora's stupid enough to have used that frame. Where'd you get it from? Off of some grandma's atomos?"

Hope cleared his throat, "Just grab that clipboard. Turn to page three; we'll go through the list."

Nora grabbed the clipboard and pulled out a pen. After turning to the aforementioned page she flashed hope a smile to signal her readiness. Hope didn't return it. He was starting to feel hungry. Maybe he should have lunch. In fact, he was feeling quite hungry, it was distracting even.

"Well?" asked Nora.

Hope shifted his weight to his other foot. "Uh, what's first on the list?"

Nora glanced down at the clipboard, "Turn on ignition, and check all systems."

"Okay, right." Hope continued to stand there; his stomach really was distracting him. "First I just need to," his voice trailed off. Why was he out here again? He could be inside, in the presence of chicken and waffles.

"Ooopen, the cockpit?" suggested Nora.

"Oh, right." Hope fumbled with his pockets. After a moment of brief struggle he pulled out what looked like a car key with an electric lock. Smiling uneasily he pushed a button. Lights flashed, something beeped, and then nothing. Nora glanced at him, looking for direction. Hope counted the seconds under his breath. Then a loud drowning rumble came from Alexander. Slowly, the cockpit began to swing upwards and open. Hope gave a sigh of relief. He felt himself smile. The cockpit stopped. His smile fell. A hellish whirring sound came from the cockpit. Alexander began to shake. Hope moved toward his shuddering war machine, "I think the motor's stuck. Hold on." He glanced back at his mother.

Nora's eyes were wide. She began to fidget, "Maybe I should go get your brother."

Hope cursed under his breath. "No, Mom. It's fine. I probably just have to grease the hinges. Just wait." He made toward Alexander, praying she wouldn't over react. He was half way there when Alexander gave a final tremor and collapsed in on itself. Lights started to blink again, and an alarm went off. It was all Hope could manage not to swear.

Nora turned towards the house. With a final glance over her shoulder she said, "I think I'm going to get your brother. Yes, I'm going to get your brother."

…

Hope sat on a crate bemoaning his luck. He had double checked everything! How!? How could this have happened? Hope hung his head. It didn't matter now. It wasn't that Hope minded having to work on Alexander, but soon it would begin. If there was one thing Riku excelled at it was being a douche, a smug douche. He glanced at his watch. Mom had been inside for nearly half an hour now; he wondered what was keeping her. Maybe she was waiting for Riku to pick himself up off the floor. He was probably laughing his ass off, the ass. He heard the door open. Hope gave one finally sigh of self-pity before standing up. He did his best to brace himself, or at least to not look foppish. He saw his mother walking towards him, alone.

"Your brother is going out apparently."

"Really? Where?" Hope brightened. The day might still be salvageable.

"To a Save-the-Cactuars rally in Sector Square. To spread awareness."

"Spread awareness of what? The growing trade of cactus needles in the sewing industry?" Hope asked. He scowled, that just sounded stupid.

Nora shook her head, "He didn't specify, but he's about to leave in a few minutes. You're supposed to "not suck" without him." Hope's scowl deepened. Was his mother smiling? His family was full of unsupportive jerks. A sudden thought seized Hope, "Mom, if Riku's going out can't he take…"

"Already called it," said Riku, materializing out of thin air.

"…your car?" Hope finished lamely.

Nora smiled apologetically at him, "He did already ask. He made his case rather compelling."

"What?!" sputtered Hope, "How is chauffeuring his friends around compelling?"

"Like you're going to go anywhere," Riku taunted.

Hope glared back at him, and cursed the fact that his parent had waited until he was old enough to drive to teach him the value of sharing. He could have his own computer, bedroom, combat mecha, but not his own car. It boggled the mind. "Why are you going to a rally about cactuars? I thought going out with on Saturdays meant doing something I don't know…," here Hope paused for effect, "…fun."

"Because Kairi can't do her homework by herself," Riku rolled his eyes.

"Homework? Why are you helping her with homework?"

Riku shrugged, his attention focused on the truck pulling up into the drive.

Two young men stepped out of it, both with wild brown hair and ridiculous pants.

"Mrs. Estheim," started the shorter of the two, "you're looking radiant today."

"Hello, Sora," Nora answered back. Sora gave her a lopsided smile. He oozed charm. Hope glared at him.

"It's always a pleasure to see such a lovely lady. I mean, you're a lot prettier than Riku. No offense, man," said Sora, "I get tired of looking at him sometimes. You should tell him to do something about his hair."

"Come on, dork," said Riku, grabbing Sora by the arm and pulling him away. Sora gave Nora one last smile. Hope watched them go. "Why do you put up with that?" he asked his mother.

Nora snorted, which took Hope by surprise. He didn't know mothers were allowed to do that. "Sora's harmless, and can't I have young men telling me I look nice?"

"No!"

'Really, that's kinda harsh," said the other young man that wasn't Hope or Sora, "I mean, you shouldn't turn down a complement, or someone else's complement."

"Thank you, Noel," beamed Nora.

"Shouldn't you be going now?" asked Hope. Really, who was he to say anything? She wasn't his mother. How would Noel like it if Hope went over to Noel's house and made lewd comments about his grandmother's dumplings?

"No, I'm staying right here," said Noel unfretted by Hope's tone.

"Why? Sora's gone, you can go."

"Hope!"

"Because your mother asked," answered Noel. He gestured towards Mrs. Estheim.

Hope turned to his mother, ready to demand explanation.

"Well, when I was talking to your brother Sora called to ask for directions and I tried to explain to him, but he kept getting confused so I asked to speak to Noel, and I may have mentioned you've been out here all day and Noel was generous enough to agree to help you work on Alexander," she explained, and then took a deep breath.

Hope turned back to Noel, "Really, he'd do that? Just come over here and help?" He tried to smile, but it felt forced.

"Oh, it was no problem," said Noel, "I had to drop Sora off anyways, and I have the afternoon free, so."

"So, you're going to help me, because you have the afternoon off. Not because my mother called you and asked you to come over," said Hope.

"Yup."

"Well then, I'll just leave you two to it," Said Nora, all smiles. "Do you want snacks? I can get snacks. How about chicken and waffles?"

…

It was another three hours before they got Alexander running. Four, if he included their lunch break. Hope sagged on his crate. He was done. No more robot for today. Noel wiped his hands with a rag.

"So, is there a reason you've, well, built that?" asked Noel, bobbing his head towards Alexander, "Like a competition or something?"

"Yeah, for the Academy. If Alexander scores high enough I can win a scholarship," answered Hope.

"Ah, so you didn't build Alexander to, I don't know, impress anyone?" asked Noel. The question threw Hope. He wasn't sure how to answer. Who didn't he want to impress?

"Impress who?" asked Hope.

Noel looked sheepish, "Lightning, maybe?"

"Why would I want to impress Lightning!?" sputtered Hope

"So, you're saying that you don't have a thing for Lightning? All that staring and whatnot is just out of…," Noel paused, "…respect?"

Hope felt hot. He'd been out here too long. "Of, of course it's out of respect! Lightning's deserves respect, she's… you know, she has to put up with Snow all day. Staring at someone doesn't mean you like them," said Hope. Then he added, "And I don't stare at her!"

"Yeah, that's not what Fang told me."

"Fang lies! Pathologically! I think she has a problem, and why would I build Alexander to impress Lightning? It would be pointless," he said to his feet. Hope felt this wasn't sufficient enough an explanation. He tried again, "I mean, I don't think she likes mechas."

"Pointless?" asked Noel.

Hope's head bobbed, trying to impress someone outside of her own interests was pointless. He'd be better off learning how to slice a melon in half using a spoon, not that he'd given much thought to the matter.

"Ah well, chin up buddy!" Hope felt Noel's hand clasp his shoulder, "It's probably best just to let it go. This kind of thing happens to everybody, no point in agonizing over it."

Hope looked up straight at Noel, "What are you talking about?"

Noel was nonplussed. "You do know, don't you?"

"Know what?" asked Hope. He was starting to get annoyed with Noel.

"About Kain and Lightning," said Noel.

"What about Kain and Lightning?" asked Hope slowly.

"That they're probably dating now," replied Noel.

"What! You told you that?" Hope leapt up from his crate and advanced toward Noel.

"Everyone, Hope."

"What has Lightning told you? Has she ever called Kain her boyfriend?"

"Well, no," said Noel, "but they act like they're going out. They spend a lot of time together."

"What, when?!"

Noel frowned at Hope, "Remember when their car broke down and Serah asked me to go pick up Lightning? Kain had waited with her until I got there."

Hope scoffed, "Anyone would do that."

"For two hours?" asked Noel, "and that's not the only time I've seen them together. There was that time at the farmer's market, at the fair, at Lightning's house, and when had to go to Vanille's to get Serah's pot holders."

Hope was not convinced, "All those…don't mean anything. They're… friends."

Noel considered this, "You've got a point, but aren't most lovers friends?"

"Have you ever seen them, doing… doing stuff?!"

"No."

"That settles it then, you don't have any proof that Lightning and Kain are dating."

"It wouldn't be hard to find some," said Noel.

"Oh, and you're certain about that!" shot back Hope.

"Yeah, I am," said Noel, "I'd bet, say, one hundred gill on it."

"What? You're just going to give a hundred gil away"?

"No, I'd bet a hundred gil that I can find proof that Lightning's dating Kain," Noel repeated.

"Then get it ready," said Hope, "and grab those parts. I'm going to prove to you that they're not dating."

"How are you going to do that?" asked Noel.

"By going to Lightning's house right now and having her tell you they're not."

…

Hope and Noel continued the debate all the way to the Villers residence. Noel refused to believe that there was nothing going on between Lightning and Kain, and Hope refused to believe that there was. Lightning had never mentioned feeling anything like that about Kain, and neither had Serah. Hope couldn't see were Noel was coming from. He really disliked trying to argue with someone who couldn't actually form an argument.

"I don't know Hope," said Noel, ringing the doorbell. "I can't wrap my head around Lightning hanging around Kain if she didn't like him. She just isn't the type." Hope shifted the box in his arms and scowled.

"They're both in the guardian corps. Lightning's apart of M.O.G.* I mean, she's planning on transferring to the cavalry. Kain's a dragoon. It wouldn't make sense if they didn't spend time together," replied Hope.

"Why would a M.O.G. spend time with a dragoon?"

"The dragoons are the cavalry; she probably just wants to know what it's like. You know, ask him stuff."

Noel rolled his shoulder, "Well, maybe." Hope felt his scowl deepen. He was getting tired of this and wanted to drop the subject. He opened his mouth to say so when the door opened. What stepped out on the threshold was a slim figure with fabulously toned arms, pink hair, and a face that looked like it had just finished eating a lemon. It was Lightning.

"Um, hiya!" chirped Noel. He nervously watched Lightning's face, waiting for a greeting. After a few seconds he shifted his weight and let his eyes wander to the doorframe. Hope watched him from the corner of his eye.

Lightning just stared. "Hi," she said after giving Noel a long moment to get uncomfortable. Then she turned to Hope. "You caught any flies over there?"

Hope heard his teeth click, and felt the capillaries in his face burst into brilliant life. He tried to steady himself, straightened his back, look intelligent. "Er, no…I, I finished working on the mecha's stabilizers earlier than planned. I thought we'd return some of the spare parts. Well, if you still wanted them, I mean," said Hope, hefting his box.

"Wait," said Lighting, "We gave you parts for ah…?"

"Mechanized, electronic combat-grade hydraulic armor unit," Hope finished for her, "for the Academy's annual Mecha Wars. I should qualify for the second weight division in the automated defense category."

"So," said Lightning, "you're building a robot. Why am I not surprised?"

"A full scholastic scholarship is offered as first prize in the amateurs division," said Hope feeling heat creep up his neck. Really, why did everyone give him weird looks when he talked about this?

Lightning snorted, "Convenient excuse."

"Hey, I don't wanna butt in," interjected Noel, "But this is getting pretty heavy. He indicated to the wheel on his shoulder. "Mind if we come in and set this stuff down?"

"Oh… sure" said Lighting, remembering she was the host here. "Come on, everyone's inside." They followed her inside.

"By everyone, you mean Snow right?" asked Noel, shooting a Hope a meaningful look. "Because I think these are his."

"Yeah," said Hope.

"The one and only," retorted Lightning.

Lighting led them into the kitchenette. Serah was standing at the counter. She was dressed in one of those brightly colored printed aprons worn by women that don't cook all that often. Hope had always wondered about those aprons. His mother had one, and the bulk of her culinary skills were ordering take out, and making spaghetti. Maybe it was a girl thing, something to do with looking fashionable in the kitchen. Serah hummed to herself as she sliced potatoes. A large mass wearing a tattered grey overcoat sat at the kitchen table. It held an energy drink in one hand while it belched loudly between giving rambling commentary of the speed bike race flashing on the television overhead. It turned around at the sound of their steps.

"Hey guys!" said Snow, smile splitting his face.

"Noel, Hope. What are you two doing here?" asked Serah, wiping her hands on a dishcloth. She idly flicked her bangs out of her eyes. Her hair was as pink as her sister's.

"I didn't need all of these," said Hope placing the box on the table. Snow put down his drink and peered into it.

"You're done already!?" asked Serah, "You work fast, Hope."

"What's this stuff?" Snow asked, rummaging around in the box's contents.

"The parts you gave me, for Alexander." said Hope, giving Snow an exasperated look. "You know my build for the competition."

"Yeah, yeah…so that's were that went," said Snow, examining an axel, "When did I do that?"

"Snow!" admonished Serah, "We gave those to Hope last week! Remember, the parts that didn't fit on your bike."

"Oh, yeah," said Snow recollection dawning on him like a small sun, "come to think of it I don't remember what I gave you."

"Of course you don't," said Lightning, "you don't remember half of anything you do."

"Yes I do."

"No, you don't."

"Well that explains you Hope," said Serah trying to ignore her sister's and husband's argument. "But why are you here, Noel?"

'Oh, I'm just helping. Speaking of being helpful, do you have a place to put this? The wheel I mean," replied Noel. He was starting to look slightly lopsided. It was a heavy wheel.

"Oh, just put that out in the hall. I'll take it to the garage later," said Snow.

"Great place to trip over it," said Lightning rolling her eyes as she watched Noel.

Snow said nothing, but he gave Lightning a look rather like a plucked chocobo's, doing his best to make his eyes hurt and soulful. They said, "_Why are you so mean to me Sis?_"

Lightning glared back, "_Don't give me that look, you deserve it!" _This did nothing to mollify Snow. Lightning crossed her arms and pretended not to notice him. After a full minute of failing at this she gave up and wandered over to the fridge muttering under her breath.

"So guys, sit down. Why don't you stay for dinner? We've got tuna noodle casserole in the oven, "said Snow, enthusiastically twisting around in his chair to point towards the oven.

"I'd love to," said Hope pulling out his phone and starting to text, "but I…I need to ask my mom first."

"Thanks, but I really need to be back before seven. The last time I left Sora alone he nearly burned down the kitchen," said Noel, returning from the hall.

"Sora can't be that bad, Noel," said Serah.

"Yes he is."

Hope's shoulders seized. He slowly turned and looked over them. After finding no one there he looked were everyone else was looking, towards the stairs. Standing on the landing was a petite girl of about Hope's age. She had the quiet look of someone who knows all of your dirty secrets no matter how hard you tried to hide them.

"Hi, Namine," said Hope sounding strained, "sneak up on anyone lately."

"Yes, you just now."

"Yeah, she does that," muttered Snow, "all a part of her charm, I guess…"

Namine glanced at Snow, but didn't say anything. She quietly sat down at the table, tucking her legs under her. "Sora's understanding of cooking chicken nuggets is flawed."

"How flawed?" asked Lightning, curiosity getting the better of her. You could see it in her face, she was afraid of the answer. So was Hope, actually. Hope didn't know Sora that well, but he had the marked impression that the reason Sora had so many friends was so that they could do all the thinking for him.

"He tried to fry them frozen. They exploded."

"That sounds about right," sighed Noel as he sat down, "even the curtains were burnt."

Serah shook her head and politely changed the topic of conversation, "Well, you'll stay for a little while at least, Noel? Can I get the two of you anything to drink? I've got cola and juice boxes."

"Uh, yes please. I'd like a cola," said Hope.

"Yeah, I guess I can hang around for a little while," said Noel, "I'll take a juice box."

Serah giggled, "Alright do you want orange or fruit punch?"

"Orange I guess."

"Aaah, orange juice. Good choice," said Snow. He turned to Hope, "So when's this competition again? Must be soon if you're already done."

"The first set of trials is on Tuesday," said Hope, "I still have some diagnostics to run, but I should be ready in time. Uh, I was wondering if anyone would like to come. There at seven in the Academy's auditorium."

"Sure thing Hope," said Serah, "did you think we'd miss it?"

"Right, gonna go knock some heads!" shouted Snow, pumping a fist.

"Er, yeah," said Hope meekly.

Lightning snorted. She shook her head and turned towards Serah, who was busy fishing the drinks out of the fridge. "Hey, can you get me a peach out of there?"

"Sure, um…" Serah trailed off, still halfway in the fridge. There was the sound of things being shuffled around. "I don't think I see them."

Lightning frowned, and bent to examine the refrigerator's contents herself. "There should still be some in here somewhere."

"Oh, we had those for breakfast. You know, with the biscuits. You were there," said Snow.

Lightning rounded on him, "I had half a bag left!"

"What! There was like six," countered Snow.

Lightning made a noise in her throat, "You should've have asked!"

"Oh come on Sis'," said Snow, "I wrote em' down on the list." He waved a hand toward the fridge. Pasted on it was a large sticky note. Well, not really a sticky note. From what Hope could see there was a legion of brightly colored scraps of paper that formed one solid mass, held in place by a cactuar magnet. Hope heard Noel whistle, "Wow."

"What's all this?" asked Lightning.

"Uh, just a few things we need to get next time we go into town. I was thinking we could go tomorrow, sometime in the morning?" Serah cut in. Lightning stared at the "list" in disbelief. Then she shook her head. "No can do, Serah."

Serah's face fell. "I thought you had the day off?"

"I… I have to run an errand in the morning. Kain will be here at nine to pick me up," said Lightning, gazing into the air over Serah's left shoulder. Hope heard Noel's chair screeched as he sat up.

"Is he now?" muttered Snow under his breath, eyes lite with mirth. Lightning jerked her head slightly, but gave no other indication that she'd heard him. Hope stared into the depths of his cola. Suddenly the world had gone very, very still.

"What kind of errand?" asked Serah.

Lightning sighed, "It's Rygdea's birthday. There's a party Tuesday night. We have to go find him something. To soften the blow, show moral support."

"Moral support?" asked Noel, confused.

Lightning tossed her head, "He's turning thirty."

"That's a bad thing?" asked Noel still looking confused. To him every year above twenty was something to be proud of, though to be fair, Noel's experiences had left him with a skewed view of aging**.

"He's been in tears all week," said Lighting, ice etched into each word.

"So, you're busy Tuesday?" asked Hope.

Lightning's face softened, "Afraid so, Hope. Knowing Raines, he'll probably make attendance mandatory."

It was okay. Hope knew that not everyone could make it. That was unrealistic.

"Look," lightning started, "I might still be able to make it."

Hope looked up, question on his face.

"She's going to ask Kain if he's okay with them going to the party late," said Namine.

Hope processed this information. "Oh."

"You two seem to be spending a lot of time together," said Noel.

Lighting scoffed, "He offered a ride, I accepted it."

Serah was silent as she handed Hope and Noel their drinks. "Ya know, first you skip family movie night, and now you don't wanna go shopping?" asked Snow, giving Lightning a disapproving look, "You avoiding us Light?"

Lightning scoffed again, "What are you talking about?"

"Seems to me you'd rather spend time with someone else."

Lightning whipped around and glared, "No. I've…just been busy lately. Just who is this someone I'm supposed to be…frolicking around with?"

"Oh, come on, Light. You don't have to-" started Snow.

She didn't let him finish, "Because I missed family movie night to go help Vanille bailout Fang for losing to Gabbiani, _again_. And if you're wondering why I didn't go to your little get together-barbeque-thing last week you can thank the dick-head who wrecked his car and blocked off Sector Square." She seemed to calm down a little. Offhand she muttered to herself, "We were chasing moombas around for hours…"

"Well, I mean…Kain came to the house a couple times last week," Snow persisted.

Lightning gave a very loud snort, "He thinks it's his duty to insure a lady passage free from the molestation of unmentionables, or whatever. The bastard just follows me home. Look, I mentioned that I was planning to head through district seven to get to Little Wutai tomorrow and he invited himself."

"That area is a bit rough, Lighting," said Noel, "It might be better to go around and cut through sector ten."

"It's nothing I can't handle. I'm just planning to go speak to a man about a manuscript and then head back home."

"So, maybe we can go out later then?" tried Serah.

"Maybe," said Lighting. She walked over the fridge and started to examine the shopping list. "I don't know how long we'll take."

"Ooohhhhh," said Snow, "I gotcha, Sis. Serah and I can go after I get off work. You can take all the time you want."

Lightning went very still.

Suddenly, a quiet yowl broke the silence. Hope blinked. He glanced around, looking for what made the noise, and then he felt something on his foot. Staring up at him was the immense squashed face of Serah's cat, Snow Boots. Hope tentatively reached down and lifted the animal. It gave another mew in response.

"Oh, that thing," breathed Lightning. She gave the animal a look of deep loathing.

"Lighting!" chided Serah, though she didn't sound that upset. In fact, Hope wondered if Serah hadn't been thankful for the distraction. She reached down and collected the cat from Hope's grasp. "What has Snow Boots done to make you so angry with him?" Serah asked, ruffling the cat's neck.

"I'm not angry," snapped Lightning, a little too quickly, "he's just…," she paused, trying to find the right word, "a cat."

"I don't know, Light," said Snow standing up. He walked over to Serah and put his hand on her shoulder. "I've seen the looks you've been giving Snow Jr. Sometimes I think you're not proud to have him as a part of this family." Snow Boots mewed. He couldn't be serious thought Hope. No way he could be serious. He's talking about a cat, a pet. It mewed and batted your face in the mornings. But there was Snow's face, completely serious. What was wrong with him?! Hope glanced around at everyone else. Noel sat with his eyebrows raised. Namine was playing on her phone.

"Wha?!" Lightning was stunned. "Of course I'm…he's…this is ridiculous." She breezed past Serah and Snow and grabbed her phone and wallet, which had been lying on the counter. "I'm out."

"What, you're leaving?" asked Snow, surprised. "We've got guests!"

"But what about dinner!?" asked Serah

Lightning stopped and glanced over her shoulder, "Do we have toilet paper?"

"Well, we've got a roll upstairs," said Snow looking uncomfortable.

"Better not chance it. " Lighting turned towards Serah, "Just keep something warm for me, okay."

"If you're going out," said Namine, craning her head around to look at Lightning, "can you get me a slushie?"

Lightning sighed, "How am I supposed to get that home? It's an half hour to the farmer's market and they close at seven. If I catch the five fourty-five…shit. What time is it?"

"I've got five minutes to six," said Noel, still being helpful.

"Well, there goes that idea."

"Ya know," started Snow, "if you really have to go you could always take my bike."

"I'm not riding in that death trap of yours," snapped Lightning.

Noel stood up, "I can take you." All eyes were on him.

"You sure about that?" asked Lightning.

"I've got to go that way anyways, and his mom coming to pick him up," Noel said, jerking his head at Hope. "I can drop you off at least."

"Well that's getting there. If we get there in time I can take the seven fifteen back, maybe go past Moogle Mart," said Lightning.

"You can take the connection to Siren Parkway and go past the plaza," said Namine, "there's a Moogle Mart and Boco's, and you could take the eight thirty train back. You'd be home at eight forty-five by the latest. "

"Sounds like a plan," said Lightning. She turned towards at Namine, "We'll see about that slushie. She and Noel made to leave the kitchen. Noel waved bye while Lightning walked out into the hall.

"Al'right, bye you two. Drive safe," Snow called after Noel, "and you, don't keep her out past curfew."

"Right," said Noel giving Snow a small salute, "will do."

Hope heard Lightning snort from the hallway.

…

Dinner was served and eaten. The tuna noodle casserole was everything that Hope was expecting and nothing that he wanted. He spent half the meal picking out the bits not covered in burnt, gelatinous cheese and watching Namine build a volcano with her mash potatoes and peas. It was a mostly silent meal, mostly because Snow was too busy shoveling food in his face to say much. Serah tried to start conversation a few times, but she had something on her mind, and Namine's ideas of interesting conversation pieces were, well…

"So if you were a moogle, what color would you want your pom pom to be?" she asked through her last bit of pea, "I think mine would be green." She watched Serah, waiting for an answer. Hope was glad she wasn't looking at him. His face always seemed to have a certain look on it when people said stupid things.

"Uh, blue I guess," said Snow.

Serah pushed a carrot around her plate. Perhaps she had nothing to say to that, Hope mused. Honestly who cared what color a hypothetical pom pom that you never were going to have was. Weren't there more relevant questions to ask, like why everyone seemed to think Lightning was secretly dating Kain. Things that were important.

"Hey, you awake over there?" asked Snow, waving a hand in front of Serah's face.

"Oh," Serah jolted, mind surfacing from the depths, "I don't know. Don't moogles always have red pom poms?" she asked rising form the table, gathering the plates in a distracted way.

"What does it even matter?" asked Hope

"My friend Xeno says that having a yellow pom pom is believed to be a sign of cowardice among some moogles, and you shouldn't trust anyone with a pink one. They're not honest."

"Really, pom poms have meanings. That's stupid," said Hope testily.

"Of courses it's stupid, but it's what some moogles believe. Xeno's a moogle," replied Namine calmly.

"Ah, you learn something new every day," said Snow. He turned towards Serah, trying to get her attention, "Like Sis, eh?" he chuckled. "Didn't know she had it in her!"

Serah looked up from loading the dishwasher, "What are you talking about Snow?" Doesn't have what in her?"

"Well, you know," he said getting up and walking towards her, "Lightning's got a date!" He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Two dates, actually."

"What!?" laughed Serah, "Where'd you get that idea?"

Snow's brows knitted, "That's what she said."

"No she didn't!" It took Hope a few seconds to realize that he had said this out loud.

"Really?" asked, Namine her eyes sharp," what did she say then?"

"Yeah," said Snow idly knocking his fists together, "what did she say?"

"Well, I mean," started Hope, feeling like a boiling egg. "Friends shop together all the time. Maybe Light just doesn't know what to get Rygdea. She probably just wants help picking something out. Besides, she seemed annoyed that Kain keeps…involving himself without asking. It sounded like she didn't want him to go in the first place."

"Hope's right Snow," said Serah, "Lightning doesn't like to shop, remember. Getting a second opinion's probably the best way to make sure she doesn't have to go again. Think about all the times I asked you go to shopping with me for Lightning."

"Oh, come oh! Guys!" Snow threw his hands in the air. "Hey you," he said, indicating to Namine, "Pay attention to this. No guy just walks a girl home. Not unless he's tryin' to work an angle."

"Oh, really," said Serah, "So all those times you walked me home you were trying to…find angles to work?"

Snow coughed, "Um, well no. Of course I wasn't Serah, but not every guy is um…as chivalrous as me. I've been watching Kain. He's been giving Light the eye."

"What kind of eye?" asked Namine.

"Snow, that's ridiculous," retorted Serah.

"Don't say that. I mean, won't it be good if they ya' know," Snow mumbled.

"If they did what, Snow?" Hope was no expert, but he imagined a touch of annoyance in Serah's voice.

"Serah!" exclaimed Snow. He nervously glanced at Hope and Namine. He edged closer to Serah. In a much lower voiced he said, "Come on!" he glanced back at Hope and Namine again, Don't you think if she gets laid, maybe she'll chill out a bit?" Hope became deeply interested in the table's wood grain. Namine, however, was making an obvious show that she was trying to eavesdrop.

"Snow," said Serah in a voice that said she was not about to have this conversation.

The two stared at one another, both silent. Then after the storm passed Snow asked, "Those weren't dates?"

Serah sighed, "You know what I mean, silly!"

"What about the party?" asked Namine.

"Lightning already explained that," said Hope, "Kain offered her a ride."

"And no one else?" questioned Namine, "it sounds more like he asked to be her escort."

"What do you mean her escort!?" choked Hope.

Snow smacked Hope over the head, "You know what she means. Hormones acting up a bit? Like what they did back when like Sazh was our age. Gotta make sure your lady's treated right, eh? Kain's all about that kinda stuff. I mean, like we just established."

"I think you two are reading more into this than there really is," said Serah. "Kain's just Lightning's friend, like me and Noel, and I think it's a good thing that she has someone to go out and do things with. If there was something between them I think she would have said something by now."

"I don't know Serah," said Snow, "Lighting's not exactly the type to talk about that kinda stuff. Took her two months to say she was okay with our engagement."

"That was different, and I think I know my own sister," said Serah.

"Okay, okay, I guess you're right," conceded Snow, "but maybe we should keep an eye on it, you know just in case."

"Oh, Snow."

…

Hope's mother came to collect him at seven thirty. He was secretly glad, because it meant escape from watching _A Night in Rabanastre_. His mother and he waved goodbye to Serah and walked out to the car.

"Something wrong?" his mother asked. "You seem quiet."

"It's nothing," said Hope, "we were talking about the competition. I guess I'm just nervous."

"Hmm," his mother didn't question him any further, but she gave him that smile that mothers give you. The funny one where they sure you're hiding something.

The ride home was silent, except for a few questions about dinner, and how bad the casserole was. Hope used the time to mull over everything that had been said. There was no real proof that anything was going on between Lightning and Kain. Well, no real proof that Lightning liked Kain like that. He had to admit they were spending a lot of time together. Noel was right about that at least. Still, he didn't want to read too much into it. Hope watched cars zoom by with glazed eyes. A thought crept into the miasma of his mind. A hundred gil wasn't a lot of money, but he could totally buy Alexander all new thrusters with that. Unfortunately, while Noel had no evidence that Kain and Lightning were together, Hope had no evidence that they weren't. He'd have to call Noel tomorrow and ask about they ride to the market; ask if anything suspici-of note happened.

"Shit!"

Nora looked around in alarm as best as she was able, "What? Why are we exclaiming shit?"

"Oh, uh," Hope thought desperately of an excuse, "Just thinking out loud. I forgot something at the house."

"Do you want me to turn back?" Nora asked, shaking her head.

"No, it's fine. I can get it tomorrow," replied Hope.

"You're sure. That was a loud exclamation of realization."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"It was like something your brother would say."

"I can get it tomorrow Mom. Don't worry."

"Ookay," Nora sighed and turned back to contemplating the road in silence.

"_Shit!"_ Hope screamed, but much more quietly and in his head. He couldn't trust Noel. Anything out of his mouth would be full of biases. Hope needed a second opinion, and maybe a third and a fourth one. He would have to make some calls tomorrow.

…

* Mobilized Offensive Guard. The M.O.G. unit was well known for riding through the night, scouring the city for evil doers and loiters.

** Noel once lived at the end of civilization. Due to poor sanitation, low resources, and a dearth of good comedy shows one was luck to live past twenty-one, when most committed suicide by alcohol poisoning. Also, Noel was a time traveler.


	2. Chapter 2

Traffic was bad downtown, and which was why Hope arrived at Vanille's bakery twenty minutes late. His douche of a brother had vanished with the car early that morning, or maybe he hadn't come home last night. Either way Hope had been forced to utilize public transportation. Hope felt something twitch. The last forty-five minutes of his life had been spent wedged between the cold metal of his bus seat and a screaming child of undeterminable sex. It had all been bright colors and tantrum. And the child's mother had been no help at all. The woman had spent the ride osculating between making unwanted advances towards the woman beside her and being cracked out on cheese crackers. Hope had badly wanted to take them from her and shove the box down her hell-child's throat. At least then the crying would have stopped, if not the poop smell. It had not been his best morning. Even standing on the threshold of fried dough and cake did little to improve his mood. Hope cursed both the Riku and the woman. Ruining donuts for someone should be a crime, and so should being allowed to breed without submitting evidence of working brain cells, thought Hope bitterly. Visions of vengeance filled his brain as he groped for the door handle. But they were futile musings, Hope had seen the inside of the toilet bowl of life too often to deny otherwise. A bell chimed as he pushed the door open.

He stood in the doorway and scanned the tables for Noel. He saw a few people seated here and there. Mostly mothers with their children and a green haired girl Hope recognized as a regular. The back of Noel's head was nowhere to be found. He checked his watch and shambled towards the counter. The thought of coffee crossed his mind, but he decided against it, caffeine would only aggravate his already frayed nerves. Vanille saw him immediately but could only wave because she was helping a customer. Not to be deterred, Hope shuffled sideways until his thigh bumped into the newspaper stand. Standing at just the right angle in just the right spot allowed one to peek over Vanille's shoulder and into the kitchen. He could make out a tall figure bent over a steal work table kneading something. The dark hair tied back in a bandana and tattoos meant Fang. Hope sighed, took his spot in line, and resigned himself to waiting until he could get someone's attention.

"So you have prepared four dozen chocolate cocks? I believe I was clear I need four dozen. And they are fresh aren't they?"

Hope usually tried not to listen in on stranger's conversations, but sometimes his ears wouldn't let him.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Vanille assured the woman. "They're baking right now. Just gives us five minutes and we'll have those hot cocks all boxed up and ready to go!" Vanille added enthusiastically, copper curls bouncing. Hope really, really hoped they were talking about roosters, but the bakery's clientele was something of a mixed bag, and Vanille's smiled looked a bit strained.

"Well, here's the rest of this lot," said Fang as she emerged from the kitchen. She placed a large white box gingerly on the counter, her nose wrinkled with distaste. "Anymore little morsels of fun you need us to cook up?" Fang asked, hands on her hips.

"No, this looks quite good," replied the woman as she inspected the box's contents. It took all of Hope's will power not to look over her shoulder. "How much is the total?"

"That'll be fifty-nine gil and eighty-seven cents," started Vanille before being interrupted by the sudden appearance of a large man with an immense busy beard and a ridiculous horned motorcycle helmet. He gave the over-all impression of a Viking, if Vikings wore flannel shirts.

"Mmmm, looks good can I have one?" asked the man reaching into the box. A dainty hand swatted his paw away.

"No, darling. These are for the party."

"But I'm hungry!"

"Well, then pick out something else. You would not like these, darling. They're made from dark chocolate," replied the woman calmly. She gestured towards the pastry case. The man stared blankly at the woman. Then his thick, bushy eyebrows slowly rose. He seemed to consider her suggestion for a moment before nodding to himself. He swiveled around and bent down to inspect the vast assortment of baked goods.

"Good, I'll just nip out then. Have some éclairs that need attending to," said Fang. She flashed a grim smile at the woman before making a mad dash back into the kitchen. Vanille's was starting to become wooden. She glanced at Hope, and shrugged apologetically.

"_Where's Noel?_" Hope asked. Well, not really asked, no sound had come out of his mouth. He had really just done that thing were you awkwardly shape the words with your mouth. Vanille stared at him, nonplussed.

Hope tried again, "_Where's Noel? I was supposed to meet him here_."

"Noel?" asked Vanille.

"Beg your pardon?" asked the woman.

"Oh, ah try the er-nutty spiced apple cake! It's one of our best sellers!" Vanille recovered.

"Oh, that does sound good. Doesn't it, darling?" said the woman, bending over the case to point the cake out to her companion. The man made a strange face, shrugged her off, and kept looking. With the couple distracted Vanille turned back to Hope. She pointed to the clock and did her best to copy Hope's method of silent communication.

"_He said he'd be late."_

"_What?" _asked Hope.

Vanille tried again, "_Noel said he'd be late_." She began to quickly flap her hands, as if it would help Hope to understand.

"_He's late?"_

"_Yes!"_

Hope nodded to show he understood and went to find a seat. Without knowing why he glanced back over his shoulder. He saw Vanille trying to explain something to the woman and her companion. Judging from her hand gestures, Hope guessed it probably had something to do with why she had been waving her arms around like a mad woman. If Hope had to ever had to describe Vanille to anyone usually he'd start with her smile. Her chin was small, her forehead as well, and with the exception of her eyes, so were the rest of the features in between. But when Vanille smiled her small mouth stretched apart to reveal two neat rows of blindingly white teeth. The sheer force of their brilliance was so great it would consume the whole of her face. It was rather like watching a melon be split open, full of and sweetness but slightly disconcerting. And that pretty much summed up Vanille. The sheep were disconcerting as well, in Hope's opinion. Vanille had grown up on a wool farm and loved the fluffy creatures dearly. And if the bakery's decor could be summed up with one phrase it would be: things Vanille loved, thus, the presence of stuffed animals and B-movie horror posters. An enormous plush sheep stood guard by the pastry case; its glassy button eyes watching for people that came in not planning to buy anything but just grab a complementary cup of water and use the free wifi. Hope had seen its unnerving stare guilt more than one person into buying a cookie. Miniature versions were placed in the center of each table. Hope paused and contemplated one. He knew they all had names, but he had never bothered to ask what they were. After a moment he realized that he was staring at a toy sheep in a bakery and sat down. He gently turned the sheep to face the other way and waited. His wait wasn't long. Noel arrived about ten minutes later. He sat down opposite to Hope.

"Well?" asked Hope.

"Well, what?"

"You're thirty minutes late!"

"Moogle moonshine."

"What? Isn't that illegal?"

"Exactly, next time you see Mog, tell him I'm looking for him."

"Mog's running moonshine?" asked Hope, confused.

"Oh, he'll be running," replied Noel.

"Okaaay," Hope wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Did you find out anything?"

"About what?" asked Noel. He had grabbed the plush sheep and was poking its nose.

Hope grabbed the drinks menu and slapped Noel over the head with it. "About Kain, you idiot! You went with Lightning to the farmers market yesterday!"

"Ow! Yeah, and?"

Hope sighed inwardly, "So you're telling me you didn't take her just to tag along and ask her about Kain?"

Noel put down the sheep. "Yeah, but I got nothin'. I drove Lightning there, dropped her off, and left. Wasn't sure I wanted to push the subject. She didn't seem too happy with Snow."

Hope glared at him. "You didn't even ask her anything on the ride there?"

"Nope, like I said she didn't want to talk about it."

"How do you know if you didn't ask!?"

"Because she said so. Spent twenty minutes telling me about how Snow was an idiot, and if he tried to get into her business again, how she'd cut off his nose with her gunblade."

"What, really?" asked Hope. It wasn't like Lighting threating Snow with physical violence surprised him; she just didn't usually give warning beforehand. Noel nodded.

"So all we know is that Lightning and Kain are going shopping today, and that he sometimes walks-well, takes her home."

"Yup."

"Well, that's just great. At this rate we won't know anything until Christmas." Hope's hackles were stating to rise. Everything today was turning out to be one annoyance after another.

"I'm in no rush," said Noel. "I mean, you're going to need time to save up aren't you?"

Hope felt his eye twitch. "Really, and you don't?"

"Naw, I'm not worried. It won't be too long before we hear something, and I have a job."

"You sell people fish."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"Fish." Really, if that one word didn't sum it all up Hope didn't know what else he could say. Now, Noel was the one glaring. Hope wasn't worried though. He still had the drinks menu.

"Now what is this secret meeting all about?" rang out a sudden clap of thunder. Both boys jumped. It was Fang. She must have snuck up while they were arguing. Fang was never one to miss an opportunity. Hope blinked at her blearily. It was Noel who recovered first.

"Hope and I have a friendly wager."

"Oh, really," leered Fang. "Just what kind of wager?"

Hope hesitated. He had his doubts about bringing Fang into this. While she had never actually lied to him before, he had known her to either embellish or omit certain facts for her own amusement, like that time with the mountain oysters. But he couldn't afford to be discriminating now, he needed all the information he could get, regardless of the source.

"Noel bet me a hundred gil that he could prove that Lighting is secretly seeing Kain."

"Seeing him?"

Hope sighed, "Yes, Fang. You know, dating."

"Well, of course they're seeing each other!" exclaimed Fang.

Hope nearly choked on his tongue, "What?! How do you know?"

"Isn't it obvious!? Those two want to make it look like they're walking out together. Not saying I agree with it, but it's easier for some people."

"Easier?" asked Noel.

"Fang, what are you talking about?" asked Hope, just as puzzled.

Fang looked from Hope to Noel, taking in their expressions. "You two need to adjust your rabbit ears," she said, knocking her fist against Hope's forehead. "That man's a puff."

"Okay," said Noel, "what's a puff?"

Hope felt his temples start to throb, "You think Kain's gay?"

Noel looked startled, "Kain's…Wow. I don't think I can see that."

"Have you looked at the man?" asked Fang, dead serious.

"So Kain's a little, well groomed. That doesn't mean anything Fang," said Hope.

"Oh, he's well groomed alright. It's like he's a woman! I tell you I've never seen a man fawn over his hair like that one. It's a waste, really. And don't you start with tellin' me that I can't spot a queen when I see one."

"I mean, I use conditioner," said Noel, not meeting Fang's gaze. Hope could only nod. He stared at the sheep. Hair was something Hope had learned not to talk about. Sixteen years of sharing a bathroom with Riku had taught Hope that expressing unwanted opinions on another person's head could only end badly. But Kain's hair was, in all fairness, really, really girly. It wasn't that Kain was blond, or the shininess, or the luxuriant fullness, or the soft waves, or the fact that he had about three feet of it. It was that Kain's hair was all of those things; woman looked upon his golden head from afar and wept from jealousy. Hope knew plenty of men with long hair, but many either suffered from chronic greasiness or a depressing thin, lankness. Hope had never known a man were the style actually looked flattering, except Kain, and that was deeply suspicious. Men weren't supposed to be pretty, girls were.

"Long hair on guys isn't weird," said Noel.

"It's not just his hair," said Fang, "You've seen what he wears. I'll grant you, you can see a straight man walking around in tight pants or a shirt, but you don't see one wearin' both. And the shoes! Hand him a catalogue and I bet he could name every designer in it off the top of his head."

Hope thought about this. He personally, usually only saw Kain in uniform, which were designed to make you look smart. Tight pants just looked stupid, but were ridiculously popular. Wearing them was more of a sign of bad taste than anything else, the shirts too. Hope glance over to Noel. Noel's light blue pull-over looked rather snug over his biceps.

"Everyone wears designer shoes, Fang. I know the name of most companies. I'd get laughed out of school if I went wearing something from Bocco's," said Hope.

"Then explain his eyebrows," replied Fang.

"His eyebrows?" asked both boys in unison.

"Look," Fang sat down opposite of Hope, reached out and grabbed his hair with her left hand while fishing something out of her pocket with the other. After a moment's struggle she freed the small object and nearly shoved it up Hope's nose. "Tell me what you see there!" she demanded.

Hope wasn't able to answer right away, mostly because he was too busy fighting off hysteria from another person grabbing his face to focus on whatever Fang was holding. It was a mirror, the small kind that women carried around to check from smeared lipstick, and according to one source, for pimples in private locations.

"My nose?" replied Hope, feeling techy.

"Don't get smart with me. Your eyebrows, Mister," said Fang.

Hope sighed, and did what he was told. "They look, I don't know, fuzzy?"

"Exactly, you've got a regular mono-brow growing," said Fang.

"What?"

"You look like you have hair on your face. Can you say the same about Highwind? No, the bastard tweezes his."

"They're thin, yeah, but you can't say Kain waxes his eyebrows because of that," said Noel.

"They don't get that way themselves!" exclaimed Fang.

"Fang, Kain doesn't do anything to his eyebrows. They're just like that. I mean, why would want to look like he's scowling all the time?" asked Hope.

"Beats me," said Fang, "but even you've had to have noticed the twinkle toes' nails."

"Well, yeah," Noel coughed.

"His nails?"

"Tell em'," Fang demanded of Noel.

"Maybe he lost a bet or something," Noel mumbled. Fang glared at him.

"What about Kain's nails?" Hope demanded.

"Um, they're pink," Noel said.

"And I'll bet you my first born that he manicures them too," said Fang.

"Kain wears nail polish?"

"Sure does, now do you believe me?" said Fange, putting her hands on her hips.

"Look," started Noel, "I've known guys…"

"Noel," said Hope, "I know that he raised you, I get that, but in no way is Caius normal! You can't use him as any kind of standard for other people!"

Noel said nothing, but sulkily went back to poking his sheep.

"Yup," agreed Fang, "that one's gone over the bend. I don't like you still talking to him either."

"Alright, say Kain is gay, and I don't think he is. Why would he want to make it look like he's dating Lightning?" asked Noel. Caius wasn't someone he liked to discuss in public.

Fang scowled at him, "Oh, don't be naïve! They're each other's beards!"

"Each other's beards," repeated Hope.

"Of course, Vanille and I were talking about this last night. Vanille!" Fang turned and began to wave Vanille over.

Hope glanced at Noel, who could only shake his head in response. Hope realized he should have seen this coming. Fang had believed that Lightning was a closeted lesbian for years. The possibility that a straight woman could own a stuffed PuPu doll and do a hundred pull-ups was anathema to her.

"Fang, we've been through this, Lightning isn't gay. And Even if she was, I'm pretty certain she doesn't want to sleep with you," said Hope

"I'm a married woman!" said Fang. She stared at Hope in horror. "I don't need any of that nonsense. That shit would make me go straight, effing lesbians," she declared to no one in particular.

"Right Fang," said Hope.

"I'm serious. This one here is all I need," said Fang as Vanille finally meandered over. She gave the other woman a loving look while sliding a hand over her bum. "Vanille, tell these two how Highwind is Lightning's beard."

"W-well, umm," stuttered Vanille. She looked down at the hands and began to fidget, and Hope thought that he could she her cheeks turning pink. She was clearly uncomfortable. "He might be Lightning's beard, but..."

"But what?" asked Fang.

"Fang, Lightning fancies Ffamran Bunansa the actor, she's told you."

"Pff, that doesn't mean anything."

"And she went on that date with General Raines last month."

"Rygdia put her up to that."

"Fang, if Lightning's just been letting you think you think that she might be a lesbian so you wouldn't take her out to bars anymore, she told me. Sahz and her have a bet on how long it will take you to notice," said Vanille, miserable.

"What is this?!" roared Fang.

"Ha!" said Hope, "see I told you Lightning isn't a lesbian."

"Well, that doesn't mean anything about Highwind!" said Fang, not willing to go down without a fight.

"Kain might be gay, but if he is I don't think he hide it," said Vanille, "and sometimes, sometimes I see him looking at women's bottoms as they walk out the door. And his eyebrows are natural Fang, and he uses bargain conditioner from the corner store, not the fancy stuff you use from the salon."

"That," said Noel with a finger pointed towards Vanille, "that's what I think. No way Kain's the type of guy to care enough about what other's think about him to hide something like that."

"Yeah, he is kinda… an ass," said Hope.

"What! Where was all of this last night?" Fang demanded from Vanille. "This is the first time I've heard any of this."

"I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen," said Vanille.

"How was I not listening? I clearing remember talking about this for an hour," said Fang.

"You weren't listening, Fang," Vanille said calmly. Then she added, "_Loveless_ was on the telly."

"Well, I never!" declared Fang, "Is there anything thing you've been meaning to tell me, but I just haven't been listening?" Fang advanced towards Vanille.

Vanille played with her fingers and nervously kept glancing off to the side, refusing to meet Fang's eyes. "Well, I…" she started.

"Well, what Missy?"

"I don't like the shower curtain in the bathroom."

The two stared at each other for a moment, neither saying anything. Finally Fang said,  
But I thought you liked it!"

"Fang, it's orange."

"Hey, as great as this new found honesty is, have either of you actually seen or heard anything relating to Kain and Lightning dating, not just each other but anyone?" asked Noel.

"Oh, I understand now. All of you ask for what I think and then you just laugh it all off! Fang doesn't know a sheep from a shupuff! See if you get another word outta me!" Fang erupted.

"And I think you might have a customer too," added Hope to Vanille.

"Oh, no!" said Vanille spotting a man standing at the counter, "I have to go!" She moved to attend to the man but right before she left she said, "All I really know about Kain is that he likes macarons and crullers, sorry. And sometimes he seems sad."

"What about you?" Noel asked Fang.

Fang didn't say anything. She didn't look at them either. She was staring out one of the windows.

"Fang," said Hope, "I came here because I thought you could help."

Fang sighed and without turning around said, "Hell if I know. I've tried talking to Lightning. That one won't say hide or hair about anything. I've taken her out on the town and nothing, all she'll do is complain, and I'll be damned if I ask Highwind about anything."

"Right, thanks for your help", said Hope. "You've definitely given us a lot to think about. I appreciate it Fang."

"And you're welcome said Fang," giving Hope a smile, "but if you find out anything I'm the first to know, you hear me."

"I think I can manage that," said Hope.

"Well, you better. There's a knob on your head with my name on it if you don't," said Fang. "Now is there anything you boys need before she prostitutes me out again?"

Hope decided not to touch that one. Noel just looked confused.

"Um, I could go for some palmiers," said Noel.

"Yeah, bring me a seed cake," said Hope, "and maybe a latte." It was only half past eleven and he felt drained. Nerves be damned he needed caffeine. The fires of curiosity and wonton disregard for personal standards had been set alight. The desire for knowledge burned in Hope's belly, and he found himself contemplating something he never thought he would: another man's sexuality. If he didn't need the sugar and butter for brain fuel, he would surely need it to self-medicate.

"Uh, make that two cakes please."

…

Hope paused to wipe the crumbs from his jacket after they stepped outside. Noel however was taking the opportunity to scarf down yet another palmier. He was on his fifth one. Hope wasn't sure if this trip to the bakery had yielded anything viable information, but Fang had at least given them a new lead. A part of him wanted to dismiss her ramblings of Kain's apparent homosexuality as nonsense, but if any of it was true…it would prove to be problematic, Hope realized. Showing the absence of something was harder than showing proof of it, and to get his hundred gil he would have to somehow have to obtain irrevocable evidence that Kain was gay. Considering Fang's theory depended on said man being closeted, Hope could foresee a few problems with that. But to be honest the money was only half the reason he was doing this, the most important half he told himself, defiantly not secondary to knowing Lightning was still single, no not at all.

"Do you really think Kain's gay, and have you ever watched _Loveless_?" Noel mumbled through a bite of pastry.

"Yes. No. He could be," said Hope. "We need more proof, but I don't want to ask Kain about it. And no, not really, but my mom does."

"I watched a few episodes with Serah once, couldn't get into it. Just too much drama. I can't understand why it's so popular," Noel mused.

"That's because it's tripe," said a tall silver haired man exiting the bakery. "Goddess forbid anyone burns the studio down," he muttered to himself as he walked off. They watched him go.

Hope turned back to Noel, "Do you have any idea how we can find more about Kain?"

"Well, maybe we should ask around. See if anyone else has noticed anything," suggested Noel.

"Like who? Sahz? They don't know each very well." Hope Paused, "Does Kain have any friends? I only ever see him by himself."

"Well, he's gotta have friends," said Noel, "everyone has friends."

"Yeah, well who then?" asked Hope.

"Maybe we can try asking Rydea. Didn't they live together for a little while? They've always seemed friendly towards each other."

"Roommates don't equal friends. Living with someone doesn't mean you know anything about his personal life. I still don't know if my own brother eats pork anymore."

"Still, it's worth a try," said Noel, "Riku doesn't eat pork?"

"It was a phase, he went vegan for a month, and then he gave it up. I mean, I've seen him eat eggs. I think his friend put him up to it."

Noel shook his head, "Giving up meat is a big thing just for a friend."

"You don't know Kairi," said Hope.

"Excuse me!"

Hope did his best not to jump, why did this keep happening to him? A young woman was coming up to them. She was a petite girl. Looked no older than sixteen, but Hope's gut told him she was older. She was quite pretty, and looked strangely familiar.

"Uh, hi," said Noel, trying to straighten his shirt.

"Were you talking about Kain?" she asked. Hope realized where he had seen her, she was in the bakery. Hope cursed silently; he hadn't realized they had been that loud. He and Noel hadn't been that bad, but Fang had.

"Well, we," Hope started.

"Because I know Kain," said the girl, "My Name is Terra. You're Hope right? Lightning has told me about you."

"She has?" the words came out on their own.

Terra nodded, "And you are?" she asked Noel.

"Oh, I'm Noel. Um, I guess I'm sorta a family friend, or something," Noel said to his shoe.

Terra smiled at him, "Noel the Terrible?"

"I take you know Mog, then?" Noel asked.

Terra giggled, "Did you really toss him into a tree?"

"Hey, he deserved it," countered Noel, "and I need to get my friend's pants down. It's a long story. I'd rather you not ask."

"I've heard," said Terra still smiling, "but I wanted to ask you about what you were talking about. You're friend said something about Kain and Lightning?"

"Well, um you see…Hope and I," Noel gestured to Hope, "have noticed that they've been spending a lot of time together lately. So we've just been wondering if the two of them are an item, maybe you can help us with that. You know them both I presume?"

Terra looked thoughtful, "To be honest I don't know, I am not close to either of them, but you're not the only ones wondering. I am sorry that I was listening in on you, but you are not the first I've heard to discuss it. "

"Really, just who else have you heard talking about it?" asked Noel.

"There is a man; you may have heard of him, his name is Jecht."

"Jecht, from the Zanarkand Abes, Jecht!?" asked Hope, nearly stammering, "The one they named the Jecht shot after? "

"I thought you didn't follow blitz ball," said Noel, scratching his head.

"My brother," replied Hope.

"Er, yes that Jecht," said Terra, "From what I understand he and Kain are good friends. Jecht is also curious as to whether they are courting. When I went across the bay to visit Yuna a few days ago, I remember him mentioning it to her."

"And what did she say?" asked Hope.

Terra shook her head, "Nothing I fear the two of you haven't already surmised, only that they have been together more often of late. I believe she said that she would ask Lightning about it personally."

"I see,' said Hope, "Well, it's another lead at least. Thank you."

"So Terra," said Noel, "I know you said you aren't that close to Kain, but would you say that he's ever seemed to come off as maybe, well, gay?"

Terra didn't seem to know what to say. She blinked a few times before saying, "If you mean happy, then I would say no. He's always been a bit taciturn."

"No, I mean as in, as in Kain being homosexual," Noel clarified.

"I…I cannot say. I can say that I know Kain is from Baron. The men there are more similar to the ones in Gesthal. It's not like here; men are expected to be, ah, better groomed. Not as your friends says, taking pride in one's appearance is expected, it does not mean deviancy."

"Well, it's not really deviant," bumbled Noel.

"So you don't know," said Hope, cutting him off.

"No," admitted Terra, "but if you truly believe that what your friends says is true, you could try discussing it with Cecil, but I cannot say he would feel it proper to speak about something so personal."

"Who is Cecil, if you don't mind me asking?"

Terra shook her head, "You really known, nothing of Kain do you. Cecil and he have been friends from childhood. They are like brothers."

"Like brothers, can't ask for anything better than that," said Noel, "So do you know where we could find either Jecht or Cecil."

"Jecht lives in on the big island, in Valfor Springs, if you wish to go all that way. I am not certain where Cecil lives, though he is a member of M.O.G. You may be able to ask Montblanc about how to get in touch with him. "

"Yeah, we can defiantly visit Montlblanc, but the big island is too far away just to go there to find Jecht. We don't even know him, anyways. It would be weird to just show up at his house," said Hope.

"Jecht does come here on occasion," said Terra, "There is a bar in Leviathan Plaza, The Seventh Heaven. Everyone goes for Karaoke night."

"He comes all the way out here for karaoke?" asked Noel, Are the acoustics in the bar amazing or something?"

"No, they're rather atrocious, really," said Terra, "but the owner is a good friend."

"Gottcha,"said Noel.

"When is karaoke night?" asked Hope, "and do they have an age limit?" he added, trying not to blush.

"It changed, it used to be on Mondays, but we went last week and no one was there, and I forgot to ask Tifa about it."

"Forgot to ask, why?" asked Hope, "I mean if it's the only reason you go there…"

Terra sighed, "There was an unpleasant distraction at the time. In fact, I don't remember much else about the evening. It was such a disappointment." She forlornly stared off into the horizon.

Silence buzzed in Hope's ears, he did little to fill it as he was too busy digesting everything said. Visiting M.O.G. headquarters wouldn't be too difficult, he was already downtown, but he had heard of Montblanc. He had been described as everything from dashing and knightly to a severe pain to the buttocks. Apparently the only way he would agree to speak to you was if you passed some kind or ridiculous test, or if you wished to report about a noise violation. M.O.G. operatives were known to buy a "kegger" on Saturday evenings, much to the displeasure of anyone living within a square mile of headquarters. Leviathan Plaza was more problematic, that part of town wasn't bad during the day, but at night freaky shit tended to happen to anyone out past midnight. Alyssa's friend Nena said one night her sister had gone out and woke up the next morning missing her socks in a strange room behind a comic books shop. She had been so drunk that she had only woken up when a moomba started licking her toes. All in all, that part wasn't so bad, and Nena wasn't completely certain that the part where her sister had spent half the night gambling with a bright blue alien in desperate need of an elixir fix wasn't just her sister being drunk, so it didn't really count. Still Hope wanted to live his life with toes unmolested, just the same. And getting into a bar when most people still mistook him for fourteen was a whole other can of worms.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you interested if Lighting and Kain are together," Hope heard Noel ask.

Terra shuffled her feet, "It does not really concern me, but I am dying to know. Everyone has been talking about it. Zidane, Bartz, Vaan, Jecht, Firion, Yuna, Tidus, Squall though he will not admit it, and maybe even…well, maybe not, has been wondering. "

"So just old fashion curiosity then," chuckled Noel.

"And you?" asked Terra.

"Pretty much the same reason, and I bet him a hundred gil I could find proof." Noel jerked his head towards Hope.

"I see, and you are curious as well?' Terra asked Hope.

"Yeah, who wouldn't be," mumbled Hope, Lightning is just so, well you know how she is. I guess I also just want to know why everyone thinks they might be together. It's hard to see her with Kain."

Terra regarded Hope for a moment before she said, "I'll admit the thought of Lightning courting anyone is curious, she has never seemed interested in such things for as long as I've known her, but I don't think it odd for her to fall for Kain. He has always been kind to her, in his way."

"All they ever do is argue," said Hope, "He's arrogant, and he never listens to her about anything. He always thinks he's right. Why would anyone find that attractive?"

"A little jealous there buddy?" asked Noel.

"What!? How did you get jealousy from that?"

"You have misjudged him. I know that they have had their disagreements, but Kain would never willfully antagonize Lightning," said Terra.

"Listen to Terra," said Noel, "Look, I know what an arrogant smug bastard looks like, and Kain's not one of them. He's just confident in himself. Can he be confrontational, yeah, but I've never seen him pick a fight just for the hell of it. Besides, it's not like Lightning can't handle herself. She's pretty stubborn, Hope. It's probably a good thing Kain's willing to take a shot at her now and then."

"What do you mean by that? How is being a mocking douchebag helpful?" asked Hope, nearly furious.

"Come on, Hope. You know how she gets. Lightning can be a little…" Noel paused, searching for the right word.

"Scary," Terra supplied for him.

"That's ridiculous," sputtered Hope, "Lightning's not scary."

"So the constant threats of beating people don't alarm you at all?" Noel shot back.

"Lightning doesn't beat people."

"Yeah, tell that to Snow, Hope. Let me know what he says."

"Snow's different. You can't be around him for more than five minutes without wanting to punch him."

"That's not really an excuse."

"She does have a temper," Terra cut in, "but I feel she has much control over it now. At least judging by what Vaan tells me."

"That is true," Noel conceded.

"Yeah," said Hope, "so let's just drop it, okay. We should be trying to decide how we are going in contact with Jecht."

"Well, that seems simple enough. We'll just stop by the bar and ask about karaoke night, and if the bartender knows he'll be there," said Noel.

"What like, now? It won't be open."

Noel checked his watch, "Not now, but most bars open at four, which gives us a few hours to drop by M.O.G. and see if Cecil is on duty today."

"If you do not mind, I would like to come with you," said Terra, "I would not find seeing Montblanc again, there is something I have been meaning to ask him, and I can show you where the Seventh Heaven is."

"Sure, you're welcome to come, that's fine with you?" Noel asked Hope.

"Yeah, that might be best. I'd feel less awkward about talking to this Cecil, and anyone else we don't know, if you were there," Hope agreed.

"Right, so I guess we should get going," said Noel. He turned to Terra, "You have a car I take it?"

Terra shook her head, "Um, I'm afraid not. A friend dropped me off here earlier."

"You?" Noel asked Hope.

"No, my brother has it," Hope sighed.

"That leaves the truck then. Might be a close fit, the back doesn't have a whole lot of space."

"It will be fine," Terra reassured him.

"Yeah, we'll make it work," said Hope.

"Alright," said Noel, "now I just have to remember where I parked."

…

Fifteen minutes later the three of them well on their way to finding answers, adventure, and if not glory then at least barbeque hot wings, which Terra assured the boys Tifa, the bartender at the Seventh Heaven, made exceptionally well. Or they would have been if the traffic had been better. Apparently, there had been a wreck just south of them on Main Street. Currently they were stuck behind a large tie-dyed van that was blasting grating pop music out its windows. Hope cursed his luck as he sat in the backseat of Noel's truck, knees nearly knocking into his nose. He really hoped that he would finally have some answers by the time the day was over, he really didn't want to add sleeplessness on top of a contorted spine.


End file.
